New Brunswick election: Fewer events, promises mark Tories’ ‘different’ campaign

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservatives have been noticeably less present on the campaign trail compared to the Liberals and Greens.

Since the Sept. 19 election call, there have been at least 10 days on which Tory Leader Blaine Higgs has had no public events.

The Liberals and Greens, meanwhile, have scheduled some sort of event on almost every campaign day, with less than one week to go before the vote.

As well, the Progressive Conservatives have made significantly fewer election promises than have their main two opponents.

Higgs has brushed off suggestions his campaign is light on activities, suggesting recently that despite the comparatively few public events, his schedule is filled from Monday through to Saturday night.

J.P. Lewis, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, calls Higgs’s strategy “different,” saying it goes against the norm of how parties have traditionally campaigned in provincial or federal elections.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

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HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it will provide financial support for at least two more years to the private ferry service that links the province with Maine.

Public Works Minister Kim Masland released a progress report today that shows all regions of the province benefit from the service operated by Bay Ferries Limited.

The report says the heavily subsidized ferry that travels between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine, is not more expensive than comparable services.

As well, the report says that after the 2026 sailing season, the province will require new agreements for the vessel, the operator and the terminal operator in Maine.

The province’s Progressive Conservative government budgeted $21 million for the service in 2024, but the final costs have yet to be calculated.

Meanwhile, the government also confirmed today that a full economic impact study that began in September 2023 will not be completed until next spring.

“Our job with the ferry service is making sure it delivers good value for all Nova Scotians, and we continue to do the work to understand its impact,” Masland said in a statement.

“This progress report shows us ferry passengers stay longer, spend more and travel throughout the province. It also illustrates the importance of maintaining consistency with the service.”

The progress report says that during the 2023 sailing season, visitors using the ferry spent more than $20 million in Nova Scotia and stayed in the province for an average of 8.2 nights.

The study also found that 38 per cent of passengers visited Halifax, 30 per cent stayed in the Annapolis Valley and 27 per cent travelled to Cape Breton.

In 2023, the ferry carried 38,430 passengers and 15,348 vehicles. As of last Thursday, the ferry had carried 48,804 passengers and 19,711 vehicles this season.

“The 30 per cent growth over last year’s traffic is a testament to the hard work of our BFL employees and local contractors,” Bay Ferries CEO Mark Wilson said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

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MONTREAL – Corrective measures are underway to address a “toxic climate” of fear and intimidation at a French-language Montreal primary school.

Quebec’s Education Department has appointed two monitors who started working today at Bedford school in the city’s multicultural Côte-des-Neiges district, who have to report back by Nov. 30.

The province’s measures follow a report made public last week concluding there was a “dominant clan” of teachers who imposed a very strict, autocratic rule over students.

The government’s report said children were subjected to physical and psychological violence, and that teachers refused to teach or paid little attention to subjects such as oral communication, science, religion and sex education.

Quebec launched its investigation after a half-dozen radio reports by 98.5 FM into the problematic climate at the school.

Eleven teachers who allegedly engaged in concerning behaviour will be investigated to determine if they committed serious misconduct and whether or not their teaching certificates should be suspended or revoked.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville has ordered audits at three other schools — two elementary schools and a high school — under the governance of the same service centre as Bedford, and allegedly with similar problems.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

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